Send in the Clowns
by La Belle Anarchiste
Summary: It's just another night for the Bennett family. That is, until three strange men turn up at their house with a 'night of fun' planned. Suddenly the Bennetts are playing a game, and everything is at stake.-On hold until mid-December after exams. Sorry!-
1. Chapter 1

I, unfortunately, do not own the Joker. The rest of the characters are pretty much mine though.. Please review!

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It was six o'clock and the sun was still bright in the summer sky. The clouds drifted idly, waiting for a breeze to aid them. But the air was calm. The stillness that lingered was eerie, and unusually strong heat pressed down in a suffocating blanket. It was the hottest day Gotham had witnessed so far that year.

On the outskirts of the city, where the towering sky scrapers met the pocket-sized houses and cottages of the residential areas, a family were living their lives.

A man sat in an armchair in his living room, feet up on a footstool, reading a newspaper. His wife was across the hallway, in the kitchen. She sang to herself whilst she scraped the remains of their evening meal off of some plates, before stacking the plates in a pile in the sink. Upstairs was their daughter. She lay sprawled across the bed, her long black hair dangling over the edge of the mattress, listening to music that was being blasted out from a stereo in the corner of the room. Outside, in the back garden, was her brother. The oppressive heat didn't faze him for an instant – he kicked a ball around the grass, booting it at a makeshift goal – made of two plant pots that were stood a few feet apart – every few minutes.

Anyone who had ever met the Bennett family, however briefly, could tell you they were the closest thing to a perfect family. They looked after each other and helped out anyone else in need of assistance. Their large house was always immaculate, both inside and out, though they refused to hire any help. They gave to charity, took trips and outings together on Saturdays and attended church on Sundays. They were average-looking, with the exception of the sixteen year-old girl, Mia, who insisted on dying her hair and wearing dark, heavy clothes at all times of the year. But even she was blessed with the same charming personality that the rest of the Bennett family was.

As Eric Bennett turned the page of the newspaper he was reading, his wife, Valerie, entered the living room and sat down next to him, utterly exhausted.

'That's it, I'm done. I can't handle any more housework today,' she sighed. Her husband simply patted her hand, too engrossed in the article in front of him to congratulate her or console her, or whatever it was he was supposed to do.

The page in front of him read:

**BEYOND A JOKE**

**Gotham City burns and the Joker remains at large****.**

_As another building is targeted by the king of Gotham's criminal underworld, we are forced to ask the same question that has been asked for the past year: Can the Joker ever be caught?_

_The Emerald Club, a respectable nightclub in the south of Gotham was the next part of the city to be attacked in the early hours of this morning. Fortunately there were no fatalities, although the occupants of the rooms upstairs, including the owner of the club, have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries._

_The Gotham City police force have been doing everything possible to track down this mastermind and put a stop to the devastation the city is suffering, though the citizens of Gotham find themselves wondering if what the authorities are doing will ever be enough..._

Eric stopped reading and put the newspaper down. He rested his head in his hands and groaned.

'You're doing all you can honey,' Valerie reassured him, but he was beyond reassurance.

Eric Bennett was a superintendent of Gotham's police force. He believed he was personally responsible for the force's inability to capture the villainous Joker. He refused to admit it was the Joker's skill that kept him under their radar – according to Superintendent Bennett there must be something he and the force could do better. There must be something they were missing...

'Mom, Dad? Can I please go see if Daniel wants to play?'

The voice of his son, Peter, brought Eric out of his depression. Peter stood in front of them, his mousey-blonde hair flopping in his eyes. The dark brown eyes and high cheekbones made him resemble his father an astonishing amount. Eric looked down at him and smiled.

'Course you can, son. Be home by half past seven though, right?'

Peter grinned – the grin was missing two teeth – and sprinted out the door.

'Stay in the street dear!' Valerie called.

''Kay,' was the distant reply.

Valerie leaned her head back against the sofa and shut her eyes. Peter was only ten, but was already smarter than a lot of the older children they knew. He was very polite, excelled in all areas of schooling, and had lots of friends. She was so proud of him.

'Mom, Dad?' Peter reappeared inside the living room. Valerie opened her eyes and looked at her son. His face was flushed and his eyes were flickering towards the window anxiously. When he spoke his voice had a tense edge to it. 'There's a clown on the front lawn.'


	2. Chapter 2

It transpired that Peter had been wrong. There wasn't a clown on the front lawn. There were two clowns on the front lawn.

The two men stood on the grass facing each other, seemingly deep in conversation. The man on the left was tall and lanky, with pale skin and greasy blonde hair. His companion was the complete opposite. He was short, with large bands of muscles around his arms that his shirt barely concealed. He was dark-skinned and his cropped black hair shone in the light of the evening. There was nothing particularly odd about their appearances, except for the rubber clown masks both men wore that disguised their faces.

The three members of the Bennett family gathered round the bay window of the living room and looked out uneasily.

'What do you think they want?' Mrs Bennett asked.

'I don't know. But I hardly expect they're here to juggle or walk a tightrope,' Mr Bennett replied.

'They're scary,' Peter added. With that, both Mr and Mrs Bennett had to agree. The sinister masks certainly didn't look like they belonged to any regular circus clowns.

Eric shook his head and internally scolded himself for being so silly. He was a high-ranking police officer, for crying out loud! They were probably just some youths hoping to vandalise something or cause some trouble.

Ignoring his wife as she tried to convince him otherwise, he strode out of the room and opened the front door. Without leaving the safety of the doorway, he addressed the two strangers.

'Excuse me, sirs?' He called, and the clowns turned to look at him. 'Can we help you with something?'

The man on the right nudged his friend who coughed once and stepped forward.

'Errm, yeah, hi. Sorry to intrude, but my friend and I were just admiring your car,' he said in a cheerful voice, gesturing to the sleek black Mercedes that stood on the drive.

'Oh... right. Thanks,' Eric said, surprised at how polite the man sounded. If anything this made him more wary of the clowns. They obviously weren't just ill-mannered teenagers underneath the masks.

'I'm Jerry,' said the tall, blonde-haired man, closing the distance between himself and Eric and holding out his hand. Eric made no move to accept the handshake. He was watching the shorter man pick up a big duffel bag from the floor and move forward to stand next to his friend. Jerry dropped his hand to his side and nodded to the man next to him. 'And this is Tom,' he added.

'Tom and Jerry?' Eric asked, his voice sceptical. Jerry chuckled.

'Ha ha, yeah, that's us. Hey, errm, do you mind if I use your phone? Only, we're running a bit late for an appointment, and we need to tell our... friend, that we're almost ready.'

Eric raised an eyebrow at the clown. 'I don't think so. We're kind of busy at the moment. Sorry I can't help.'

Jerry sighed and shook his head. 'I really didn't want to have to do it this way,' he mumbled to Tom. Then, from the back pocket of his jeans, he produced a gun. Eric gasped and tried to shut the door, only to have the action stopped by Tom, who wedged his boot in between the door and its frame. Eric took a step backwards, startled, and Tom kicked the door open and stepped inside the house. He took hold of Eric by his shirt and flung him aside. He crashed into the wall before sliding to the floor.

'See, if you had just shown a _little_ bit of courtesy, things wouldn't have had to be unpleasant,' Jerry said calmly, shutting the door behind him. ''Kay Tom, I'll make the phone call; you take care of the family.'

Tom, who still hadn't spoken, nodded once. He grabbed Eric, pulling him up, and made for the living room door.

'Ah ah, no, leave him here. I think I'll be keeping an eye on the superintendant for the moment.' The smirk under the mask was audible in Jerry's voice. He held the gun out to Tom, with a: 'Here, hold this,' and then proceeded to remove a piece of rope from the bag Tom had brought with him.

Swiftly, skilfully, he looped the rope around Eric's wrists and knotted it tightly. Then he took back the gun.

Eric was still unable to speak or move – panic blocking his thought paths. He wanted so badly to protect his family, but was at a loss to know how. His only gun was in his bedroom upstairs. So he could only stand there, mute and still, as Tom disappeared through into the living room, to where Valerie and Peter were waiting.

Eric listened to their startled cries with horror, at that moment feeling completely helpless. There would be some way to stop this, he told himself. You didn't get as far as he had in the police force without having a few tricks up your sleeves for beating bad guys. But he would have to wait a little while. His chances wouldn't be good as long as the men were armed.

Jerry picked up the receiver of the telephone that was on the hall table. He dialled a number and waited a few moments.

'Boss, it's Jerry. Everything's just about sorted here.'

A voice barked some instructions at the other end of the phone.

'Will do, boss.'

Jerry hung up and the short conversation was ended. He turned his masked face towards Eric and sniggered.

'I'm disappointed, officer. I would have expected more of a fight from you.'

'Please don't hurt my family. You can have money, the car, anything you want. Just please don't harm them,' Eric whispered, and Jerry sniggered again.

'You're pleading to the wrong guy, Eric. It's my boss you want to take this up with. And if you plan to pursue that course, I wish you the best of luck.'

Eric grimaced. He had started wondering who they could possibly be working for, and how they could possibly know about his name and job, when Jerry grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the kitchen. Eric obliged, unwilling to anger the goon until he had some sort of a solid plan.

Jerry dragged Mr Bennett through the kitchen and into the dining room, where Valerie and Peter were already secured to chairs at opposite sides of the table. Their cries for help were muffled by the cloth gags that were stuffed in their mouths. The same fate befell Eric, as he was tied to the chair next to his wife, and a similar gag was placed in his mouth.

'Where's the girl?' Tom asked, speaking for the first time. His voice was deep and gravelly, with an accent that hinted at a foreign origin.

'What girl?'

'Boss said there's supposed to be a girl.'

Jerry scratched his head. 'I'll go check upstairs.'

Tom sat down in another chair – there were six chairs altogether in the grand dining room – and put his feet up on the antique table, despite muffled protests from Valerie. Peter rolled his eyes; even in a situation like this, his mom was worried about the furnishings.

Two minutes later Jerry returned, carrying a struggling Mia in his arms. Her hands and feet were bound and a gag was fastened around the back of her head. She wriggled about as much as she was able, more annoyed than frightened, but Jerry quickly dumped her in the chair next to Peter and backed away.

He looked at the faces of the family that were seated around the table.

Peter was crying. He was keeping quiet, but he couldn't stop the little tears of terror from trickling down his cheek. Next to him, Mia was fuming. She shouted and screamed against her gag, all the while fighting against the rope that fastened her hands and feet. Valerie was still scowling at Tom, whose feet remained on the table. There was a strange look in her husband's eyes, almost calculating. He still held on to the tiniest of beliefs that he could bring his family out of this alive.

But at that precise moment a figure appeared in the doorway.

Any hope that Eric Bennett had felt vanished in an instant, and the calculating look that had been in his eyes was replaced by one of helplessness, and undiluted fear.

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Oookay, the Joker shall make his appearance shortly. I'm just tweaking some bits of the next chapter.

Of course, I shall only be updating if I get lots of reviews! I'll appreciate any ideas you have for the plot of this one, because I'm still not sure which way it's going to go...

Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review so far!

So this is my first Joker writing experience, and I'm not convinced I've captured his character well enough...  
Please can you let me know what you think of him - if he's too over the top, if he's not over the top enough, etc. - as that will really help me to improve the story.

Okay! On with the show...

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'Well isn't _this_ a happy family?' The man in the doorway asked. As he stepped forward out of the shadows, Valerie stopped scowling at Tom, Peter stopped crying and Mia stopped struggling.

The man standing before them – 'Boss' – was not who they had expected to see, but each member of the Bennett family recognised him immediately. His face was freshly painted white, with only a few skin lines visible on his forehead and cheeks, and the areas around his eyes were pitch black. His hair was greasy and streaked with a dingy green colour. But the defining, and the most disturbing, characteristic of the man was the two scars that stretched from his lips and up his cheeks, etching a permanent smile on his face. His lips and the scars had been painted a deep red, highlighting them even more. The Joker grinned.

'Forgive the uh... intrusion, but I was passing through the neighbourhood and thought I would pay Superintendent Bennett a visit.' His voice was high and whiny, with a subtle edge of hysteria to it. 'You have a lovely home by the way, Mrs Bennett,' he added, addressing Valerie, who narrowed her eyes in response.

'Oo eher eh ahay ih hih!' Mr Bennett shouted against his gag.

'What was that?' The Joker enquired with a smirk.

'Oo eher eh ahay ih hih!'

'Sorry, didn't... quite... catch that. Who do we have here?' He asked, practically skipping across the room to where Peter, who had resumed crying, sat. Mr and Mrs Bennett screamed in objection simultaneously as the Joker crouched down by their son. His grin widened as he pulled the cloth out of Peter's mouth. 'What's your name, you little tyke?'

Peter swallowed and looked to his parents for reassurance. He didn't find much in their terrified faces. 'P-Peter,' he said, after a few moments.

'Tell me, P-Peter,' the Joker said, 'why are you crying?'

'Because you're going to hurt me and my family,' Peter whispered.

'_Me?_' The Joker mouthed. His eyes widened and he looked truly hurt. 'What makes you think I would do something like that?'

'Because I've seen you on TV. You blew up those buildings and killed all those people.'

'And so you immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was going to hurt you?'

Peter nodded, and the Joker shook his head sadly. 'So like your father. Of course, in this instance, you're absolutely right.' He chuckled and turned his head toward the rest of the family. 'Although this time some of you may be lucky – I won't necessarily have to hurt all of you. In fact, personally I would settle for just the superintendent. But I thought it would be uh... fairer if I left the decisions to the family tonight. Who gets hurt will be your choice,' he said, gesturing to the Bennett family as a whole.

He shoved the cloth back into Peter's mouth and stood up. He smacked his lips together, and, reaching into the inside pocket of his dull violet jacket, he pulled out a gun. The Bennett family screamed against their gags in unison, all apart from Mia, who sat there quietly, a strangely bored expression on her pale face. The Joker noticed this, and sauntered over to her side. He crouched next to the teenage girl and removed her gag.

'What's your name, beautiful?' He asked, and then licked his lips.

'Mia,' she replied without hesitation.

'Mia? Pretty name – matches your pretty face,' he smirked, grabbing said face in his gloved hand. 'Might I be so bold as to ask, Mia, why you aren't screaming or panicking like the rest of your family?'

'I'm not panicking because I'm not scared of you. And I'm not screaming because I'm not panicking,' she explained calmly, although the words were distorted by the man's grip on her face.

The Joker pressed his lips together and raised his eyes to the ceiling, as though pondering over her reply. Then he dropped his eyes back to Mia and nodded in understanding. 'That makes sense. See, Bennetts, this is the attitude you're going to be needing tonight. If you're going to be running round screaming then I'm warning you: I won't have much patience for it. I'm looking at you, Eric junior,' he said, waving the gun at Peter, who was still crying. 'A little enthusiasm wouldn't kill ya.' The Joker released Mia's face and stood up.

'Ih ooh eea eh ih ahee oo!' Eric shouted through his gag.

'Seriously, Eric, you're going to have to speak a little _clearer_ if you want people to understand you,' the Joker said, raising an eyebrow. He stood between Mia and Peter, resting a hand on their shoulders. 'But really, Mr and Mrs Bennett, you have a _delightful_ family. I'm glad I'll have time to get to know them better.'

'Oh ooh uh eeeeh,' said Eric.

The Joker sighed.

'Would you like me to remove your gag, Superintendent?'

Eric nodded.

'Do you promise you're going to be _polite_?'

Mr Bennett scowled, but reluctantly nodded again. The Joker snapped his fingers and one of the clowns - Tom - stood up, leaving a black smudge on the table from his boot. Valerie felt faint. Tom stepped behind Eric and whipped the gag from his mouth.

'Why are you doing this to us?' Eric asked in a low voice.

'I'm glad you asked. You see, um, my... _inspiration_ for this particular event came last week when you showed up with your force, trying to foil my last bank heist. You almost had me that time, by the way – _bravo_,' the Joker said, rolling his eyes, the sarcasm in his voice poorly concealed. His tongue swept across his bottom lip before he continued. 'I watched as you went about your usual jobs – checking DNA, questioning witnesses, etcetera, etcetera,' he waved his hand around in an uninterested manner, 'and I realised something. We've been playing the same game for over a year now, Superintendent, and I realised I know absolutely nothing about the man I have so much... so much _respect_ for. It would have been a crime to allow our relationship to continue that way, don't you agree? Call this... a _bonding _experience, if you will.' He finished his explanation with a grin.

Eric didn't buy it, but he didn't question it either. 'So what are you going to do with us?' He enquired, his voice barely more than a whisper.

'Another good question Eric – you're on top form tonight. What we're going to do... is play a little game.' The Joker chuckled – a terrifying sound. 'The aim is simple – to stay alive.'

'What if we don't want to play your game?' Interjected Mia. The Joker slowly turned his head towards her, one eyebrow raised, lips pursed. He dropped the gun on the table, causing everyone in the room to flinch at the sound. He ducked down so his face was just inches from hers. One hand retrieved a knife from inside his jacket. The other wrapped itself around Mia's neck.

'If you don't want to play,' he murmured, licking his lips, swallowing once, pressing the blade lightly against her cheek, 'I suggest you speak up now.'

Mia didn't speak up. She simply stared at the man with expressionless eyes.

'Good. Are you going to let me explain the rules now, like a good girl?' He asked and Mia nodded as much as the grip on her neck allowed. He stood up and his lips twisted once again into an excited smile. 'The rules are as simple as the aim. As I said before, tonight you will all have control over your own fates. All you have to do is listen to what my men and I say, do everything we tell you to do, and, most importantly, have _fun_! At six o'clock tomorrow morning, my men and I will leave. Those of you who survive the night, and that's assuming there are some survivors, will win their freedom.'

As he looked around the room, the Joker couldn't help but laugh. They were all staring at him – eyes wide, gagged and ungagged mouths hanging open. All except Mia, who still wore the same, indifferent look on her face. That didn't bother the Joker for the moment. She would get into the spirit soon enough.

'Any questions?'

When nobody replied the Joker picked up his gun from the table. He pointed it towards the ceiling and fired a shot. A shower of plaster rained down from the ceiling, much to the despair of Mrs Bennett.

'Then let the games begin.'


	4. Chapter 4

The Joker had decided that they would all be more comfortable in the living room.

The living room was, like all other rooms in the Bennett household, very large, and very grand. The walls were covered by expensive-looking, pale gold wallpaper, and the floor was covered by an even more expensive-looking carpet of a slightly darker shade. A huge plasma screen was fastened to the wall above the marble fireplace. Two brown leather sofas stood at the end of the room, by the glass doors that opened out onto the back garden.

It was on these sofas that the Bennett family sat presently. Eric and Valerie sat on one, separated by Tom, and Mia and Peter sat opposite them, separated by Jerry. Neither of the Joker's men had removed their masks in the hour they had been in the house. Each member of the Bennett family still had their hands secured by rope, although the Joker had been kind enough to relieve them of their gags, and had untied their feet.

The Joker himself was stood by the fireplace, humming and winding an alarm clock he had procured from the duffel bag (to the surprise of both Tom and Jerry, who had packed the bag themselves and did not remember an alarm clock). He set it down on the mantelpiece – it was set to six o'clock – removed his jacket, flung it over the back of the only armchair, and sat down in that same armchair.

'Okay, Bennetts young and old, before the games really get rolling I think I want to get to know my players a bit more,' he said, his fingers twiddling a small knife absent-mindedly. He looked at each of the hostages in front of him in turn, before his eyes rested on a sobbing Valerie. 'You've been awfully quiet so far tonight, Mrs Bennett. Is something wrong?' He smirked when she looked up with furious eyes.

'You've had your fun, now please just take your men and get out of this house,' she hissed. The Joker started laughing manically. Then Tom and Jerry joined in, and the Joker stopped abruptly.

'Listen, Veronica, is it?'

'Valerie,' she corrected in an angry whisper.

'Well, _Val,_' he said, standing up and walking slowly over to where Mrs Bennett was seated. He untied her hands and she rubbed the red marks that the rope had left in her wrists. 'I know you don't really mean that. I'm sure you're having as much fun as I am, deep down. But you don't have to worry, sweetheart, because the fun's just beginning...' He stepped forward until his legs were on either side of Valerie's, straddling her. She wriggled uncomfortably and tried to move away, but there was nowhere for her to go.

'Don't you touch her, Joker!' Mr Bennett cried. The Joker ignored him.

Mrs Bennett turned her face away, searching for her husband, but could see nothing past Tom.

The Joker licked his lips and tilted his head to the side, gazing intently at her face. 'You know, you're kind of pretty for your age – I see now where Mia gets her good looks from,' he raised a gloved hand to Valerie's neck and caressed it gently.

'Get your hands off me,' Valerie snarled, slapping his hand away.

He retaliated by slapping her hard across the face. She shrieked and raised a hand to slap him back, but the Joker caught it in his.

'I don't think that would be the best idea, do you, Mrs Bennett?'

'I don't know, I'm pretty tempted,' she mumbled.

'Remember Val, you're the one playing the game here. Do you really want to... _forfeit_ so early on?' There was a sarcastic edge to his words.

She made a strange noise that resembled a growl and tried to pull her hand away. The Joker held it firmly yet seemingly effortlessly, stopping her attempt. He continued to speak, paying no attention to her little struggle.

'And better yet, do you want to hurt your family's chances of winning? Hm? Do ya, Val?'

Mrs Bennett glanced past the Joker, over his shoulder to where her children sat. Peter was sobbing softly, and met her gaze with frightened eyes. Even Mia, whose face until this point had been blank of all emotion, looked worried. Valerie decided no, she didn't want to risk her family's safety, and shook her head.

'That's good,' the Joker cooed, the hint of a smirk etched on his face. 'Now, can I let go of your hand or are you going to try to uh... misbehave again?'

'You can let go of my hand.'

The Joker let go, and Valerie's hand dropped to her side. 'Look at me, Valerie.' When she didn't comply he grabbed her face in his hand, chuckling as she tried to pull away. When he spoke again, his tone was openly mocking. 'We don't want a repeat performance of this, sugar. You're playing by my rules now – break them again and I might not be so_ lenient_.'

He stood up and stepped back, the smirk still carefully in place on his red lips. He winked at Mrs Bennett, who shuddered, and ran a hand through his greasy hair. Then he turned his attention to Mr Bennett.

'Beautiful wife, Eric. You're a very lucky man.'

Mr Bennett just nodded his head once, his eyes avoiding the Joker's. The Joker grinned and stepped past Eric, pacing over to the glass doors and looking out. The sky was ablaze with the evening's sunset. It burned low over the distant hills – a halo of orange and yellow and crimson. It was beautiful, contrasting ironically with the horrific events that were occurring inside the walls of the Bennetts' house.

'Tom, Jerry? Would you both be kind enough to untie the rest of the Bennett family?' The Joker asked, without turning round.

For the past ten minutes, Mr Bennett had been trying to concoct a plan. He would never forgive himself for allowing the two clowns to enter his home in the first place, so the least he could do was try his best to get them out again. However, all the ideas he had come up with revolved around him getting his hands on some kind of weapon. And for the moment this looked pretty improbable. But he knew he couldn't just sit back and watch his family get hurt at the hands of these madmen.

Once his hands had been untied he stood up and stepped forward quickly. He stopped within a few feet of the Joker, who still hadn't turned round. Tom and Jerry stopped what they were doing and looked around confusedly. The rest of his family watched Mr Bennett's actions with fearful eyes.

'Get out of my house, Joker,' he said, with as threatening a voice as he could manage.

At that the Joker spun around. 'But... I only just got here,' he said simply, frowning.

Eric laughed once without humour and took another step forward. 'You're a funny guy. So why don't you just take your men and go somewhere where your jokes are appreciated.'

The Joker just raised an eyebrow doubtfully and made no move to obey.

'I'm trying to keep this peaceful, but I'm warning you, I-'

'Oh _you're_ warning _me, _huh?' The Joker threw his head back and laughed, then closed the distance between them with one long stride. 'Would ya look at this everyone? Superintendant Bennett's finally got his balls back!' He chuckled hysterically. Then he pulled the knife from inside his jacket and handed it to Eric. 'There you go then, Superintendant – something to threaten me with.'

Eric looked down at the knife in his hand, contemplating his next move. As much as he despised this man – and he really did loathe him – he didn't know if he had it in him to kill another human being. That would go against every single one of his morals.

'Go on, Eric. Be the hero. We both know that's what you want,' the Joker taunted through smiling lips.

Mr Bennett looked once more longingly at the knife, but then lowered it to his side. He refused to sink to the Joker's level, no matter how much the villain deserved it.

The grin faded from the Joker's face, and he sighed impatiently. 'You... you police officer's are all as bad as each other. You try to act the big man when it's mafia members or drug dealers. Petty criminals no big deal. But when someone comes along who _really_ intimidates you – someone like me – when someone comes along who you don't _understand_, then, _then _there's this huge fucking problem. You don't know what to do, you panic. You're _weak_, Superintendant. The GCPD need to learn that no matter how much the innocents of Gotham admire them, no matter how strong they believe they are, when it really matters they'll always revert back to the cowards they are.'

As this little speech progressed, Mr Bennett was becoming more and more angry. He did not like his fellow officers being described as weak, or cowards, and he certainly didn't like himself being described that way. He raised his hand, going with his instincts, preparing to hit the man in front of him, only to have his arm grabbed by the Joker.

What was louder in that moment – Mr Bennett's cry of pain, the sickening crack that sounded as his arm snapped back, or the Joker's harsh laughter – was debatable. The Joker let go of Eric's arm and he dropped to the floor, moaning with agony. The Joker kicked away the knife that had landed on the carpet and stepped over him, once again facing the rest of the horrified and speechless Bennett family.

'Ya know, I give you a little freedom, and this is what I get,' he said, raising his eyebrows. 'It's all going fine and then something like _this_ happens. This is why I hate police officers.' Mr Bennett had just managed to sit up. The Joker spun round and pushed him down again roughly with his foot. 'They _just _get _in_ the _way_!' He snarled, punctuating every other word with a sharp kick to Mr Bennett's abdomen.

Peter was crying. Mia was screaming. Mrs Bennett was struggling against Tom's grip on her, trying desperately to reach her husband. The Joker was laughing as he sent kick after kick into the crumpled body of Mr Bennett.

'Uh... boss? Don't you think that's enough?' Jerry asked hesitantly. The Joker's beating finally subsided and he stood over the limp Mr Bennett. Both were breathing heavily and Eric was moaning in pain.

'I hate police officers,' the Joker muttered and turned to face his horrified audience.

Before Jerry could stop him Peter jumped up and ran towards his father. The Joker stuck one arm out casually and Peter ran straight into it. The Joker grabbed him by the shirt before he could fall to the ground.

'Why did you hurt my dad? What's he ever done to you?!' Peter shrieked, attempting to escape the Joker's hold.

'Shh,' the Joker hushed, not even looking at the crying child. 'I had to teach your daddy a little lesson about _manners._'

He began to walk forward, flinging Peter on the sofa as he passed it. When he was a few feet from Mr Bennett he stopped, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. Then, more to himself than anyone else, he spoke.

'I think it's a little crowded in here. Time to make a few... _cutbacks_.'

He turned around to address the Bennetts. No one dared to speak now. His makeup was running with the sweat of his exertions and his hair was in disarray. There was a mad, dangerous look in his eyes.

'Okay Eric. Who do you choose?'

Mr Bennett lifted his head off the floor long enough to lock eyes with the Joker. 'What do you mean?' He groaned.

'Well... there are three of us and four of you. Now we want to play _fair_, don't we? We're going to have to even up the playing field, and that means one of your team's gotta hit the bench early on.' The Joker pulled yet another knife out from inside his jacket and waved it at Mr Bennett.

Eric's head dropped to the floor again under the weight of these words. Surely the Joker wouldn't make him do that, wouldn't make him choose between the most important people in his life. Would he? Mr Bennett looked at the painted face and scarred lips and knew the answer. Of course he would.

'So Eric, who's it gonna be?'

* * *

It may be a while before I can post the next chapter – I am so very busy at the moment. But please review! Reviews give me an incentive to work harder and update quicker!


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